“A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.” (pg. 3)

A Tale for the Time Being is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story following two women connected by a diary. Naoko Yasutani was sixteen years old when she sat down to write about her great-grandmother’s life (it spanned 104 years and quite frankly sounds fascinating), this was to be her final task/project before she took her own life. Nearly a decade later, Ruth discovers this diary along with a few other papers and trinkets washed up on the beach of an island off the coast of Vancouver, Canada- presumably the beginning of debris from the Japanese tsunami that happened a couple years previously.

As the story progresses we follow Ruth as she learns about Naoko’s life and tries to discover the girl’s ultimate fate, only to find no mention of her anywhere. A lovely story with a hint of mystery and the mystical woven in as two women separated by time and distance wrestle with questions of loneliness and their connection to the world.

“Both life and death manifest in every moment of existence. Our human body appears and disappears moment by moment, without cease, and this ceaseless arising and passing away is what we experience as time and being. They are not separate. They are one thing, and in even a fraction of a second, we have the opportunity to choose, and to turn the course of our action either toward the attainment of truth or away from it. Each instant is utterly critical to the whole world.” (pg. 324)

So every once in a while I end up going down a BookTube rabbit hole of “tag” videos. In case someone is unfamiliar with any of those things I just said, let me explain: BookTube= YouTube videos about books (aka the best YouTube 😉 ) and “tag” videos are when the creator is given a series of prompts usually with an overall theme and then selects books that fit the various categories.

One of these “tags” that I recently rediscovered is the Taylor Swift Book Tag (which you probably already figured out from the title of this post). This is a bunch of prompts based off of Taylor Swift songs, which I find fun regardless of how you feel about her/her music, and no you don’t have to listen to the songs to understand the book choices- I explain it for you (and link to music videos in case you also want to listen to songs)!

I really enjoy these sorts of things and may do more of them because it gives me a framework for talking about books I’ve read in the past and not just my current reads/to be reads.

We’ll just go with the obvious one here- the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I was obsessed with these books end of high school/early college, but honestly after I devoured the series I never had any desire to go back and read them again and there wasn’t anything about them that stuck with me.

The obvious choice here is Harry Potter, because who doesn’t feel nostalgic about Harry Potter. But the books that actually make the most nostalgic is the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. I love these books and it always feels like coming home when I pick one up for a re-read. What isn’t to love about an adventure story set in a medieval abbey with mice, otters, badgers, hedgehogs, etc. as the main characters.

Alexia Tarrabotti and Conall Maccon from The Parasol Protectorate Series. Honestly one of my favorite book couples, I just love how they interact with each other, the biting wit, and the frustrated love- it is just a joy to read (even if sometimes their temperaments lead to unnecessary issues between them- seriously just chill and talk to each other once in a while it can do wonders for any relationship). But there are some fairly obvious reasons they shouldn’t be together according to the laws of this universe which also ends up causing problems at various points during this series.

Quick warning: although I adore this series there are a few somewhat sexually explicit scenes in Soulless (the first book of the series), they are fairly easily skipped over and it is never that graphic again in subsequent books, but just heads up if that is something that bothers you.

Mogget from the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix. I know that he is technically an evil (or at least a chaotic neutral) character but he is a fabulous character and he usually manifests as a cat which just makes him adorable (an endearment he would hate so much). Also if you listen to the audiobooks narrated by Tim Curry his Mogget voice is just fantastic- his entire narration is excellent but especially his Mogget.

Honorable mention: Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare- he is pretty fabulous in every sense of the word

Mockingjay by Susan Collins. This is somewhat my own fault, I waited so long to read this series that by the time I got around to Mockingjay there were spoilers all over the internet. Confession time: I still haven’t read it and now I don’t really remember much about Catching Fire so I’d have to re-read that first but who knows when that will be.

Taran from the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. This whole series was a runner up for the nostalgia series but Taran goes through so much development throughout the series it couldn’t not be my choice here. In The Book of Three (the first book in the series) Taran is just a whiny kid who thinks he knows so much more than he does- leading to a whole lot of issues. By the end of the series he has grown so much as a character throughout the series (especially in Taran Wanderer) that he truly feels like a worthy hero.

Cheating here a little bit just because I’m terrible at keeping up with new book releases but I’m excited for the illustrated Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban coming out this fall. It’s been so exciting to in a way revisit the joy and anticipation from the first time the Harry Potter books came out- but now with more pictures and British-isms that weren’t in the American editions first time around!

The first book that ever made me cry, and forever my selection for tearjerker books is Dana’s Valley by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan. I read it in middle school and this book just killed me- it was beautiful and wonderfully written but it destroyed me and I literally can’t read it again.

Death at Pemberley by PD James. Look I adore Jane Austen and I tend to enjoy murder mysteries, so the two of them together should be good right? Wrong- this book failed for me on so many levels. It felt like there was almost nothing of the Bennet sisters in this book and it was ridiculously repetitive. The most interesting parts were the very beginning, when the death initially occurred and the ending when the story of what actually happened finally came out, the middle was just a constant rehashing of the same details over and over and over again without any actual detective work occurring. In fact the only reason the full story comes out is because of
some death bed confession- not because anyone else actually
figured it out.

Anything in the Tortall series by Tamora Pierce (Wild Magic is one of my favorites)- if you haven’t read any of her books, please do they are spectacular. If you need convincing beyond the synopsis on the back of the book, I love this post by Mark Reads about the first chapter of Alanna: The First Adventure (the very beginning of the Tortall books)- it doesn’t really spoil anything and I just love his enthusiasm (warnings for a little bit of language- in the post not the books themselves).

I generally tend to end up rooting for the couple that does get together in the end or end up being fairly ambivalent about any romantic pairings that occur (*cough* Grisha trilogy *cough*). But I’m still working my way through the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and at this point I’d really like to see Celaena and Chaol end up together but I’ve only actually read through part of the second book so we’ll have to see if that changes any.

That’s all for my first “tag” post! Let me know what you think about my picks, tag videos/posts in general, or if you’ve ever done this tag feel free to link below I’d love to read about/watch your favorites! Also tell me if you’d like me to do more tags in the future- though I probably won’t need prompting but it might come sooner if you say you like it!

Hello! The Book Challenge by Erin is starting up again over on Facebook running from July 1st to October 31st (rules and various other nitty gritty details can be found at the link). As with the previous challenge I will (attempt to) update monthly (or at least regularly) over on Instagram (@inkyscroll if you want to follow me!). Without further ado (and one last set of parentheses) my preliminary list for the various categories:

Freebie- just going to go with the flow on this one, especially since my list always has multiple changes anyways

Book with a mostly yellow cover- either Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (528 pgs) or Middlemarch by George Elliot (912 pgs) (depends on how ambitious I’m feeling)

Book with a picture of an animal on the cover- Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte (308 pgs)

Book published in 2017- either The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (464 pgs) or Beartown by Fredrik Backman (432 pgs) (though this choice will probably depend mostly on what’s available at my local library)

Book with a compass or cardinal direction in the title- North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (480 pgs)

So the book challenge by Erin over on Facebook completed at the end of April and the next one starts up at the beginning of July. Before getting into my preliminary list for the next challenge I thought it might be nice to post a wrap up here, however, since I did a little bit of a summary as I went over on Instagram I’m mostly just reposting those here along with the categories that each book fulfilled. If you follow me on Instagram sorry this is a bit repetitive, if you don’t yet follow me feel free to find me @inkyscroll!

While working to revive this blog I’m starting off with the new year with yet another book challenge! Book Challenge by Erin is being hosted over on Facebook and the (very basic) rules are as follows (more detailed rules/guidelines can be found here):

Challenge is from January 1st- April 30th, 2017.

Books should be at least 200 pages long (audio books are fine too!).

Books can only be used once per category.

Now for the fun preliminary list (that isn’t very preliminary since it is already Jan. 2nd but no one ever said I was prompt):

Edgar Allan Poe’s Murder Mystery Invite Only Casual Dinner Party/Gala for Friends Potluck is a lovely new webseries by the folks of Shipwrecked Comedy. Essentially, Poe decides to host a dinner party inviting over various popular authors (with a very fluid timeline- no these people were not all contemporaries of each other). Over the course of the evening however the authors are killed off one by one while the survivors race about trying to figure out who is targeting the guests and why. All of the episodes have been posted so I highly recommend taking a moment (or about 123 moments- 140 if you include the prologues) to binge watch it because Poe Party is excellent.

Since Poe Party includes so many famous classical authors, many of whom I haven’t actually read any of their works I decided to do my own little Poe Party Reading Challenge. Basically over the next year I’d like to acquaint myself with works from each of the guests/authors featured in the series. Though this is mostly a challenge for myself anyone is welcome to join me and read whatever you would like to from the following people!

Edgar Allan Poe– The Bells, The Masque of the Red Death, The Purloined Letter, A Descent into the Maelstrom, The Oval Portrait, Spirits of the Dead, Mesmeric Revelation, The Cask of Amontillado, The Sleeper, Annabel Lee, The Tell-Tale Heart, Lenore, The Raven

Note: These works of Poe’s were selected based on the fact they are the episode titles for Poe Party, with the exception of Lenore and The Raven– but seeing as Lenore was a guest at the party and The Raven is probably Poe’s most famous work they get included also.

Regarding the pictures: Whitney Avalon played Mary Shelley at the party but Melissa Hunter was originally slated to fill the role and I just thought her poster image was so cool that I still wanted it included.

Charming, utterly charming. That’s the first description to pop into my head while listening to this tale. Told via a series of letters, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society follows author Juliet Ashton as she corresponds and gets to know a group of people living in the channel islands. Taking place shortly after the end of World War II, Juliet begins to collect the islander’s recollections from the German occupation- revolving mostly around the society formed because of the German presence and one woman’s quick thinking.

Shaffer and Barrows introduce a cast of characters who are diverse, eccentric, and utterly charming. I was hooked early and simply devoured the story. Proper accolades must also be given to the wonderful cast of audiobook narraters who further enhanced each character’s voice. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone- read it, you won’t regret it.

The Semi-Charmed Summer 2015 Book Challenge has come to an end (yes it ended in August and yes the Winter 2015 Book Challenge just ended as well- what’s your point?). I finished the challenge this time around, reading 12 books in 4 months that fit into the various categories! You can see my wrap-up for the first half of the challenge here, this post will cover the second half. so without further ado here is (some of) what I read this summer:

I read the entire Unbecoming of Mara Dyer trilogy and luckily I could fit 2/3 into challenge categories. This was a gripping tale that follows Mara Dyer after a horrible tragedy forces her family to move and various odd/unnatural/supernatural things start happening around/to her. Delving a bit into mental health issues but with a supernatural/conspiracy twist it is an engrossing tale, but I’m still not sure how I felt about the ending and the way Michelle Hodkin wrapped things up. If any of you have read this series let me know your thoughts in the comments; and if you haven’t read the books I do recommend them even if I’m iffy on the ending- so you should go read them and then lend your opinion.

10 points: Read a book you have never heard of before. (Just go to a shelf and pick a book based on the cover, the title, whatever you want!) – Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix (248 pages, 5 stars)

I LOVED Horrorstör! If you had asked me a year ago whether or not I liked creepy thriller/horror stories the answer would have been an emphatic No. But some of my recent reads have led me to question that stance, maybe it’s just horror movies I don’t like… Regardless, Horrorstör takes place in a large Ikea-type store that is plagued by broken/damaged merchandise with no logical explanation. Three employees are recruited to patrol the store late at night but what they find is nothing short of terrifying. It is a great book but also creepy so maybe avoid reading in the dark, late at night, and inside buildings. The book is designed to look like an Ikea catalog which just adds an extra element of enjoyment.

10 points: Read a book that has been on your TBR list for at least two years.- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (251 pages, 4 stars)

Probably the most overlooked/underrated of Austen’s novels, Northanger Abbey was born of a revision of the first novel Austen ever wrote (unpublished) and is generally considered something of a parody/satire on Gothic novels and “unsophisticated romances” that were popular in the late 1700s. Northanger follows Catherine Morland as she navigates new friendships and relationships while on a journey to Bath. During which she also needs to come to terms with her “obsession” with gothic romances that begin to impact her perception of situations and people a little too much. Although, the novel certainly won’t usurper Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice in my Austen affections it was still an enjoyable novel- and is much more subdued with a steadier Catherine than what is portrayed in the 2007 movie.

Since I am such a procrastinator, I don’t actually remember much about my thoughts/feelings on Child of the Dark Prophecy. I do know that I enjoyed it but it also does not really work as a stand-alone book, so I sort of need to finish up the series before I can give an honest opinion overall… (Would also help if I wrote this closer to when I actually read the book- it’s a work in progress, ok?). Anywho, the book follows Tamwyn, Scree, and Elli as they seek to save Avalon from a drought- while dealing with the fact that one of them is destined to save all Avalon as Merlin’s one true heir and another is fated to destroy the world.

25 points: Read a book that is part of a series with at least four books.- Sabriel by Garth Nix (491 pages, 5 stars) Audiobook read by Tim Curry

This is yet another book that has been on my TBR shelf for years- I was so excited to finally sit down and read it! Sabriel is a lovely story that follows a young necromancer on a search to find her missing father- encountering various dangers and characters along the way. I would probably give the story itself 4/5 stars but once you have Tim Curry narrating it really can’t get anything less than 5/5. The tale of this world continues in Lirael and Abhorsen which I did read and enjoyed even more than Sabriel- highly recommend this series! (Especially with the Tim Curry audiobook narration!)
Side note: I adored Mogget and now have an intense desire to get a gray or white kitten, just so I can have my own Mogget-cat 😉

30 points: Read a book with an alliterative title- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (406 pages, 4 stars)

I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would, it was especially interesting how much the author addressed sibling relationships (though to be fair some of the sibling relationships were incredibly twisted and not at all a role model of familial harmony- or even a generally functioning family). Along with biographer Margaret Lea we learn about the strange family and upbringing of author Vida Winter, while also exploring Margaret’s own troubled family history. A tale of mystery and “gothic strangeness” it is a very intriguing story recommended especially for anyone who enjoys weird family dynamics, mysterious circumstances, and surprise endings.

And there’s the Summer 2015 Round-Up, better late than never! Right? (Just nod your head in agreement 😉 )

It’s that time of year again! The Semi-Charmed Winter 2015 Book Challenge is here! With new categories and thus new books to explore! Here are this season’s categories and my planned reading list (which if you’ve been following along at all is highly subject to change but I still like to have a bit of plan going in).– And yes, I realize this challenge actually started Nov.1 but due to my participation in NaNoWriMo I’m a bit behind in posting this, and it’s my blog so…

Done- 10 points: Read a book that does not take place in your current country of residence.– So anything not set in the US is free-game, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (set in London, England) (372 pgs, 5 stars)

30 points: Read two books with the same title (by different authors). — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher bevchen @ Confuzzledom.– Asylum by Madeleine Roux (336 pgs) and Asylum by Jeanette de Beauvior (320 pgs).

30 points: Read a nonfiction book and a fiction book about the same subject (e.g. a biography and historical fiction novel about the same person; two books about a specific war or event; a nonfiction book about autism and a novel with a character who has autism, etc. The possibilities are endless!).– My topic is Space. For non-fiction I’m looking at either An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Col. Chris Hadfield (320 pgs) or Cosmos by Carl Sagan (396 pgs). For the fiction option I’ll most likely read The Martian by Andy Weir (400 pgs) or Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams (240 pgs).

So there it is, my (somewhat) preliminary list for this season’s book challenge! Let me know in the comments if you’re also participating or if you have suggestions for the categories or thoughts on the books listed above or anything else you might want to say (hellos are always welcome 😉 )!!

Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now…everything has changed.

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

Melinda is a friendless outcast at Merryweather High. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, and now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. It is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and who is still a threat to her. It will take another violent encounter with him to make Melinda fight back. This time she refuses to be silent.

Aldous Huxley’s tour de force Brave New World is a darkly satiric vision of a ‘utopian’ future – where humans are genetically bred and pharmaceutically anesthesized to passively serve a ruling order. A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations, it remains remarkably relevant to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying entertainment.

Honorable Mentions (aka I was unable to actually whittle the list down to just 5 books):